Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Stephens Pipe and Steel, LLC, 525 Distribution Drive, MELBOURNE, FLORIDA 32904
on — Fractures , affecting the Leg(s) unspecified.
Final narrative
A forklift was loading bundles of pipe onto a trailer. One of the bundles weighing approximately 1,200 pounds dislodged and fell off the trailer, striking two employees that were standing on the back side of the trailer. Both employees were injured. One employee was struck in the legs, sustaining fractures in both legs. His left leg had to be amputated above the knee on 5/2/2025. The second employee sustained multiple injuries including a broken pelvis and kidney damage.
Hospitalized Leg(s) unspecified Bundles, bales
More severe injuries at Stephens Pipe and Steel, LLC
On October 13, 2021, an employee was operating a wire draw machine. During the drawing operation, the employee was adding lubrication powder to the die area of the machine when the glove on their right hand was caught and pulled into the rotating spindle. The pinch point where the wire wrapped around the spindle caused a partial amputation of the employee's third digit and a severe laceration to the fourth.
The injured employee was assisting five other employees with bracing a wall panel that was being stood up. Another employee slipped on frost on the floor surface. The employees went to evacuate the area in anticipation of the wall panel falling over. The injured employee went to jump through a window opening within the wall panel and their lower half was crushed by the falling wall panel. The employee sustained a fractured pelvis.
An employee was helping to move a 1,300-pound coil on a cart. The steel caster hit a crack in the concrete, the weld holding the caster onto the cart broke, and the coil and cart tipped over onto the employee. He was hospitalized with a laceration on his forehead and a pelvic fracture on his right side.
An employee was attempting to lift a steel beam from a horizontal, stacked position to a vertical position using a crane. They had placed two hooks on the east side of the beam on the flange. As the employee was hoisting the crane, the beam began to shift and pulled the employee forward onto the stack. When the material shifted, the hooks released and the material fell, pinning the employee between the two beams. The employee was hospitalized with soft tissue contusions on their proximal right thigh and interior left thigh.
An employee was moving a tensile strength test device with a dolly. The device fell from the dolly onto the employee's right leg, causing a compound fracture.
An employee was using a grinding machine with a foot pedal. She was loading a part into the grinder when her right hand got caught in the grinder. She then used her left hand to pull out her right hand. The employee suffered a laceration to the back of two fingers on her left hand and her left forearm, as well as partial amputations to two fingers on her right hand.
An employee was looking into a furnace to check for parts. When the furnace closed, the employee's right little finger was caught by a piece of metal, resulting in a partial amputation.
An employee was putting a metal part into a CNC lathe when the part fell on their right fingers. The employee sustained a fracture and laceration to their middle finger, and an amputation of their ring finger.
An employee was dislodging a part that was stuck in the shot blasting machine when the part released and shifted, catching the employee's left middle finger between the part and the belt of the machine. The employee pulled his hand away and sustained a fingertip amputation.
An employee was replacing a leaking hydraulic hose on an H-press. When the hydraulic hose was removed, the ram dropped and crushed the employee's small right toe, amputating it. The machine was locked out at the time.
An employee was helping a coworker transport a tall palm tree with a mini skid steer. The employee was severely shocked by a high-voltage electrical wire above the ground.
An employee was retrieving a Christmas tree from a shelf using a ladder. He missed a step and fell to the concrete floor. He sustained injury to his head and wrist.
An employee was operating an agricultural tractor during sugarcane harvesting. The employee sustained a lumbar sprain due to vibration or motion from the tractor.
An employee was moving a 3-ton condensing unit, strapped down on a dolly, out of a garage. The strap broke, causing the employee to fall backward onto the brick pavered driveway. The employee suffered injury to a spinal ligament in the neck.